Survive
by Blue Penguin Lightning
Summary: The earthquake was the least of their worries…how will they get out of this situation where the only thing guaranteed is not knowing what will happen next? Rating may change. Part I of III.
1. Lost Children, Crocodiles

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: I'm back! First and foremost, this is the first story in a set of 3 and they've all been (tentatively) planned out/partially written.

I know it's a teensy bit out of order but it sort of had to be for this to work. I hope you enjoy.

As it was for _Big Fake Smiles and Stupid Lies_, reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

So...who's ready for an _interesting_ adventure?

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**Lost Children, Crocodiles**

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"Earthquake!" I shouted, feeling the rumbling under my feet.

"Earthquake?" Cat repeated. Yes, Cat. Earthquake. Not the ground shaking violently was any kind of indication.

"Okay, everybody down. Cover your heads!" Beck ordered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Beck had grabbed Cat and was shielding her small frame with his underneath the open door frame. Robbie had ducked under the table and proceeded to cover his head. I froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. I sat down on the couch, pulling my body in and grabbed a pillow off the end to cover my head and neck. Why I grabbed a pillow to cover my neck was beyond me. A pillow wasn't going to give me an ounce of protection if something fell on top of me.

I could hear Cat scream and Robbie whimper as the earthquake rattled on. I closed my eyes and hoped that this would be over soon. I hated earthquakes, which was only one of the many things I hated.

"Is it over?" Cat asked once the rumbling and shaking had stopped.

"I think so," Beck answered.

"It's over?" Robbie asked.

"I don't like earthquakes," Cat whimpered.

"It's alright. It's over," Beck said. "You're okay."

I slowly lowered the pillow I had used for protection and looked around. I couldn't believe the damage. The only things that seemed untouched were the couches and chairs and table Robbie had used as protection. I looked at Cat and she looked absolutely mortified by everything around.

"Cat, be careful. There's glass," Robbie said.

"Where's Coober?" she asked. I shook my head. With all the damage in her mom's boss's house and she's worried about the dog. "Coober!"

"Are you okay?" Beck asked me.

"I'm fine," I snapped. I still hadn't forgiven Beck for letting me count to ten and not coming after me that night. I was still angry at him for it. How could he do that to me?

"Cat!"

Cat looked at the intercom on the side of the wall by the door. Between the intercom and the damage, Cat looked absolutely terrified.

"It's my mom's boss," she whispered.

"I forgot my key. Could you buzz me in?"

The second time he talked, Carl sounded different. His voice was deeper and he sounded…almost impatient. Cat looked at us and then back at the intercom.

"I could…or you could go to Europe for two weeks."

"Let me in," the voice commanded, harshly.

Cat hit the buzzer, granting Carl entrance into his home. She whimpered as she curled up into the armchair across from me.

"Cat," I said softly. I sat down on the arm of the chair and stroked her velvet hair, wanting her to feel better. I genuinely felt bad for her at that moment. Cat didn't do anything wrong and I hated to see her upset.

"It'll be okay. When Mr. Gibbons gets up here, we'll just explain everything to him," Beck explained.

"It won't be okay," she whispered. "Look at everything and we can't even find Coober!"

"Coober's probably just hiding," Robbie tried. Cat just shook her head.

"Coober always comes when he's called," she explained. "He always comes."

"Come on. Let's see if we can go find Coober," Beck suggested, his voice soft and caring. I could tell that he was trying to reassure Cat. As much as I didn't like Beck right now, I was glad he was trying to make Cat feel better.

"Hello, pet," said a man in a strong British accent.

Cat whimpered.

Across the room, blocking the main entrance out of the study that led to the stairs, I saw a man with shoulder length brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. From behind him, another man passed through and blocked our only other exit from the study. He was more muscular than the first man, but not by much.

"Cat, who are they?" Robbie asked, backing away from them.

"You're not my mom's boss," she whispered.

Beck slowly pushed Cat behind him. I gently grabbed her arm, being careful not to scare her, and pulled her toward me. Cat was in a fragile enough state from the damage caused by the earthquake, not that the two men who just entered didn't add anymore to the situation.

"Sit," the first man ordered, gesturing to the couch.

None of us moved.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" he shouted.

These guys made me nervous and there were very few things that did scare me. I led Cat to the couch and forced her to sit down as I did. Cat grabbed onto me, clearly terrified, and I couldn't blame her. She was whimpering. I stroked her velvet red hair, willing her to stop. I needed her to be calm so I could try to figure out what to do and I couldn't that with Cat freaking out on me. Robbie sat down on the other side of me, his eyes darting between Cat and the two men blocking the exits from the room. Beck sat down in the chair nearest the intercom. We sat in silence for a good ten minutes before Cat broke down sobbing.

"Cat," Beck said.

"Silence!"

I wrapped my arms around Cat and hugged her tightly. I could feel her shaking against me.

"Cat, I know you're freaking out but you've got to quiet down," I said as quietly as I could. I could have yelled at her but I knew that what Cat needed right now was a calm and reassuring voice. "Please?"

Cat sniffled and nodded her head but she was still shaking and sobbing. I could deal with her shaking, since it was a silent action, but I was really worried about what these guys were going to do with us if I couldn't get Cat to quiet down.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise," I whispered.

Cat's head snapped up as I heard a pair of heels click. They grew louder, which meant whoever was wearing them was coming closer.

The last thing I expected to see was a young woman, maybe twenty-five years old at the most walk in and lean against the doorway. Her blond hair was pinned up and she wore a lilac in her hair with a bright red bow tied against it. She looked at us and cocked her head to the side. Cat buried her head into my shoulder again. I squeezed her hand, our way of telling each other that we'll be fine without using words, even though it was a lie. Then, this woman's eyes locked with mine and she smiled, almost too happily.

"They're perfect," she whispered in a soft, almost baby-like voice.


	2. To Push the Dangerous

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: Wow! I can't believe the response I got! I was stunned and I can't even tell you how happy it made me. Anyway, here's chapter 2. Chapter 3 should be out later on in the week...where it gets really interesting...

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

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**To Push the Dangerous**

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We're what?

"They're absolutely perfect!" she giggled. "And so different from each other! This will be exciting!"

_Exciting_?

"I like the little one," she commented.

Cat whimpered and I hugged her tighter. The woman continued to walk around, periodically stopping beside Robbie and Beck and inspecting them. Then she stopped in front of me. She put her hand on her hips and leaned forward to the point where she was in my face.

"And you. You're going to be fun. I can already tell," she whispered.

"Get away from me," I warned.

She pouted but did back up. I did it more for Cat's benefit than anything else. Cat was freaked out enough.

"Stiles, get them up and bring them downstairs. I'm ready to go. This place is boring," the woman said. "I wanna go have fun."

She left the room but I knew that wasn't the last time we would see her. Stiles, the man with tan skin and black hair in the form of a buzz cut, tapped me on the shoulder, silently telling me to stand up. With Cat still holding on to me for dear life, I managed to stand up but didn't move other than that.

"Go," Stiles ordered.

"Robbie," I whispered and then I notioned to Cat.

"Yeah," he softly replied.

Robbie reached out for Cat and pulled her into a hug as I removed my arms from around her. At least this way, Cat would have some sort of security. I reached for my jacket.

"Leave it," he ordered. He grabbed my arm and thrust me forward, just to prove his point.

The woman was waiting at the top of the steps as I left the study. She smiled as I began to walk downstairs, without an idea of where I was supposed to go. I was panicking and I wasn't one to panic. Get jealous, yes, but panic, no. But I was right now. These people were trying to take us to who knew where and they were dangerous.

"He was fun," the woman stated, almost to herself. "He should have fought more though. It ended it much too quickly."

I saw Carl Gibbons was lying against the wall on the staircase, his throat slashed. The woman thought that was fun? What did that mean for us?

I heard Cat gasp and I wanted to turn around and tell her to shut up, that now was not the time to say something. I stopped and crossed my arms across my chest, refusing to go any further. These people weren't the boss of me and there was no way I was going to let them start to. Someone had to take a stand.

"Keep walking," the British man ordered, cocking the gun into my back. I didn't expect him to pull a gun on me but I wasn't going to back down.

"Why?" I questioned. I didn't bother to look at him.

"Jade?" Cat whimpered.

"Listen to what you're doing to your friend," he whispered into my ear. Yes, I was concerned about Cat. Everyone was. But I knew they were kidnapping us and I wasn't going to let them get away with it. I wasn't even going to let them do it.

"You're not taking us out of this house," I stated softly, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Are you sure about that?"

He kicked me in the back, causing me to fall forward and down the flight of stairs.

"Jade!" Beck shouted.

I groaned in pain as I tumbled down the multitude of steps. I gasped for breath as I landed on my back and the back of my head hit the landing of the stairs. I heard him coming closer and then his boot was on my neck, pressing down just enough to make it uncomfortable.

"Such a silly girl," the woman said.

The brown haired man leaned over me, piercing me with his dark brown eyes.

"Would you like to fight back now?" he asked.

"Be nice," the woman said. "I don't want you to hurt them, Nash. It's not as much fun if you do it early."

Early? Was this just the beginning of something worse?

Nash stepped back, grabbed my hair, and pulled me to my feet. Maybe I should let these people be the boss of me. It might keep me alive a little longer and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"Resist again and you won't be the only one paying the price," he whispered into my ear. He thrust me forward and I knew to walk. I didn't know where I was going but as long as I kept moving, I doubt they would complain. Whenever I took a step in the wrong direction, he used the gun to redirect me by jabbing it into my back.

They brought us down to the garage in Carl's house. Nash and Stiles had us line up against the wall across the door, probably so we couldn't make a run for it.

"Find the keys," the woman ordered. Her voice was already on my nerves. She stood by the door while Nash and Stiles began to search for the keys.

"Are you alright?" Beck asked me softly.

"I'm fine," I snapped. Okay, so it was a lie. I wasn't fine. I was in pain and my head was hurting and everything around me was still spinning a bit from when I hit my head. Maybe Beck did care; even if he still did, he had a funny way of showing it. Beck would have made sure I was safe; he had always put my safety and well-being above his. Asking a question doesn't prove anything.

"Jade, maybe you want to sit down," Robbie suggested.

"Don't tell me what to do," I retorted quickly. I leaned against the wall, part in defiance against being told what was best for me and part so I could get my head to stop spinning.

"Jade, I'm scared," Cat admitted.

"Quiet!" the woman shouted.

She pulled a small knife out of her back pocket and threw it at us. Cat screamed as it wedged into the wall beside her, just barely missing her. I pulled Cat into a hug, trying to instill some sense of security into her but I knew it wasn't going to work. Cat leaned on me when she was scared because nothing really scared me. But these people, they did. I didn't know what they wanted, except that it somehow involved us.

"Make the bad people go away. They scare me," she shakily whispered.

"I know," I replied softly. "Me too."


	3. Aftershock

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: But if you're going to try to kill me too then all I heard was pretty music…la la la la la la la…

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

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**Aftershock**

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"Separate them."

Cat immediately let go of me and grabbed onto Robbie as Stiles came closer. Robbie tightened his grip around the small redhead, almost trying to reassure her that it wouldn't happen. But that didn't seem to stop Stiles.

"Robbie!" Cat shouted as she was pried off him by Stiles.

"Let go of her!" I shouted.

Stiles immediately dropped Cat to the floor, much to my relief, and grabbed Robbie. Despite the pain I was in, I ran forward and took Cat into my arms. I did not want these people to have a moment with her. I didn't know what they would do to her if they had her alone. I pulled her back toward the wall where we were before. The woman came closer and stood over Cat.

"Don't worry sweetie. You'll see him again. I promise," she said, running her hand along Cat's cheek.

"Don't touch me," she muttered, clearly afraid of this woman. I didn't blame her. I barely knew who she was and that alone made me apprehensive.

"You stay away from her," I nearly growled, standing up and interjecting myself between her and Cat.

"Oh, really?" she questioned me.

"Really," I responded.

She pulled out another small knife, much like the one she had thrown at Cat earlier, and held it to my throat.

"Don't touch her," Beck warned. I'd never heard Beck's voice with such an edge, even when he got mad at me.

"You're pushing a lot of buttons right now," she said, redirecting her focus on me.

I took a deep breath and composed myself. "You don't scare me."

"I don't scare you?" she laughed; then her face became completely void of emotion. "You're funny…a bit feisty too…I'm going to enjoy you."

I didn't know exactly what she meant by that, but with the little time I had spent with this woman, I knew to be careful around her. She didn't look intimidating but she did kill Carl. She wasn't someone to be underestimated.

"Let's go," Nash ordered. He grabbed my arms and held them square with my shoulders.

"No!" I screamed. "Get off me!"

He dragged over toward one of Carl's many black cars and I used my boots to push against the outside of the car as he tried to force me inside. I was not getting inside it. No fucking way.

"You really don't learn, do you?" he questioned me. He turned me to face Cat. I saw that she was by herself with only that woman. It hit me: the longer I resisted, the more time Cat would have with this woman and I didn't want that. I hung my head low and relaxed my muscles, indicating that I was willing to go along with what they wanted. But I was only doing this for Cat. I wanted her near me, where I could protect her. Nash let go of me and I climbed into the backseat of the car. He slid in immediately after I had, making me uneasy. I didn't like him being in such close proximity in a closed in space.

"Seatbelt."

Seriously? They were already kidnapping us but were they really that concerned about us wearing seatbelts? It seemed stupid in my mind but everything about this seemed weird. Sighing, I pulled the seatbelt from behind me and buckled it into place.

"Hold your hands out," he instructed.

I glared at Nash as I held my hands out in front of me. He grabbed my wrist and repositioned it so it was on the other side of the seatbelt before taping my wrists together with an industrial duct tape, effectively stopping me from going anywhere.

Had Cat been allowed to sit right next to me when Nash had forced her into the car, I'm sure she would have been hanging on to me for dear life. I would have let her too. But as soon as Cat was buckled in, Nash taped her wrists on each side of the seatbelt like he had done to me. He slammed her door shut and left us there.

"Jade, are we – " Cat started.

"I don't know," I instantly replied. At that moment, I didn't even care that I cut her off.

I didn't need to know the rest of the question anyway. I didn't know what was going to happen but if I told Cat that, it would probably only terrify her further. Right now, Cat needed assurance and while I couldn't find it in myself to give it to her, I didn't want to be blunt with her.

As Nash started the car up and pulled out of the garage, I blamed myself for not fighting harder to keep us out of this mess. I had complied with them and I didn't know where it was going to lead us.

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We had been on the road for five hours and I was surprised by the lack of cars on the freeway, considering it was a Saturday night. It wasn't like Hollywood had never had an earthquake before. Granted, they weren't very common, but they weren't exactly unheard of.

As the sun was starting to rise, Nash exited the highway and started down a dirt road, following the car that had Beck and Robbie in it. When we started to slow down, I thought we had finally arrived at wherever we were going. Instead, I realized that we were about to drive across an old looking wooden bridge that looked like it was going to fall apart at any moment. As the first car drove across without any problems, I almost felt a little better: perhaps the rickety old bridge was safe. Still, I couldn't help but hold my breath a little as we started to make our way across.

"The bridge is shaking," Cat whimpered. "Jade, what's going on?"

"It's an aftershock," I whispered as I put two and two together. _Fuck_. We were in a car…on a decrepit bridge…during an aftershock.

"Is the bridge breaking?"

I didn't even have time to answer Cat's question as the wooden bridge gave way, causing our car to start falling forward. I cursed inwardly as my head collided with the headrest in front of me. The seatbelt was absolutely useless. I cringed as the dizziness began to come back. The front half of our car was now dangling toward the lake and I could hear more wood splintering. My heart started racing again and I knew it was only a matter of time before the inevitability of us plunging into the lake would become a reality. Sure, the lake was only ten feet below us, maybe even less, but that didn't make the prospective drop and plunge any less terrifying. The car started to slowly rock back and forth. All we could do was wait at this point.

"Jade?" Cat asked.

"Silence," Nash demanded.

I looked to Cat and nodded my head. Somehow, that calmed her down, but it didn't last long as the bridge completely collapsed from behind us, forcing our car into the lake. As the dizziness started to quell down again, I saw that our car was slowly filling up with water and we were trapped inside it with no way to get out.


	4. Crumble and Crack

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: Props to you if you can find the line from 13 in this.

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

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**Crumble and Crack**

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"It's cold!" Cat screeched as the water began to pool around her waist. It was getting higher and we were trapped.

I had been trying everything I could think of to get my hands out of the tape. I had tried wriggling my hands and wrists, pulling it apart, soaking the tape in the water in hopes that it would lose some of its stickiness, to even biting it but nothing was working.

Nash dived below the water and came back up with a knife. I slid my arms up the seatbelt and did my best to stand up on the seat; Cat quickly followed my lead. The car was flooding and starting to sink. He went over to Cat and started to cut through her tape, which didn't take him long at all. Once she was free, Nash opened her door, allowing more water to flood the car.

"Take a deep breath and go!" I ordered her.

Cat shook her head. She swam over toward me and started to, at least attempt to, break the tape binding my hands.

"Cat! Go! I'll be fine!" I shouted at her. I wasn't going to let Cat risk her life for me.

"No!"

Nash wrapped his arms around Cat's small frame and I watched in horror as he began to swim out the car with her and there wasn't a thing I could do to stop them…to protect her. Then the reality of the situation hit me: I was alone in this sinking car. Alone and trapped and I had never been more scared in my life. I didn't want to die. I wasn't ready to die. I stood up on the seat and took one last deep breath before the water completely engulfed the car.

I continued to pull at the tape, hoping that since it was now entirely soaked that I would be able to slip my hands out of in order to swim to the surface. But the more I pulled and struggling, the harder it all became. I was running out of energy but if I didn't fight to stay alive right now, I wasn't going to be. But I wouldn't let myself stop. If I stopped, it meant that I was giving up and succumbing to the inevitability of death and that was not an option for me.

As the car hit the bottom of the lake, I didn't know what else to do. I was trapped and I couldn't get out. I suddenly felt Nash's hands on my waist and I watched, almost in relief, as he cut through my tape, and proceeded to pull me out of the car and up to the surface. I gasped for air as we reached it before beginning to cough violently. Nash had me pressed against his chest, much like how a lifeguard would, as he made his way to the shore. I was drenched and out of breath and exhausted by the time we stopped. Being in that water didn't seem to take anything out of Nash though. My legs gave out and I crashed onto the ground. I had no energy left.

"Get up," Nash ordered.

I continued to cough up the little bit of water I had unintentionally swallowed before pushing myself off the ground. Nash grabbed my arms and forced them behind me before taping them back together, much like he had earlier. It wasn't like I had the energy to fight anyway. Honestly, I just relieved to be alive right now.

"At least no one will be able to find us," the woman said, almost sadly, as she looked at the broken bridge as Nash hoisted us up the side of the hill.

"What is wrong with you?" I spat at her as we reached the top.

She ran her finger along my cheekbone as she cocked her head. She smiled and then pushed some of my hair behind my ear.

"Plenty," she said. "Let's go."

Nash marched me forward as I continued to catch my breath from nearly drowning. I didn't even try to resist when the woman opened the backseat door and Nash forced me inside. I had no energy so how I was managing to put one foot in front of the other was beyond me.

"Jade!" Cat shouted as our eyes connected. "You're okay!"

Nash slammed the door shut and I couldn't help but flinch at the sound. It was weird because there wasn't much that did scare me but almost dying was pretty high up on the list.

"I'm fine," I muttered. It wasn't the perfect word to describe my state but for Cat, it was enough to tell her I was okay.

"No, you're not," Beck whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

I glared at him. "I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me. You're soaking wet," he said softly. "And it's cold out and you're barely wearing anything. Use my body heat to warm yourself up. You need it."

It was true: I was just wearing my dress from when I came over to hang out with Cat. They wouldn't let me grab my jacket, which I could really use right now. Although it probably wouldn't have been very useful anyway because I would have been wearing it and it would have been soaked too. I wasn't particularly happy with Beck but he was right: I needed to warm myself up. I didn't want to develop hypothermia. I scooted closer to Beck. I could feel myself shivering, which only made Beck more right.

"Jade, please?"

I sighed and leaned against Beck's leg. It wasn't much but it was something. Being near him made me feel a little better too; I almost felt safe for a moment.

"Look at them," the woman whispered from the front seat. "This will be the best bunch we've ever had."


	5. No Upper Hand

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: Wow...19 reviews last chapter...I don't even know what to say. I feel very humbled.

And now...let's the fun begin...

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

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**No Upper Hand**

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We were still driving as the sun came up an hour later. Cat was lying against Robbie's legs, tears running down her face. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into a hug and reassure her that we'd be okay…that I would figure a way out…but I couldn't even make myself believe that lie.

"Almost there," the woman sighed to herself. "Then it all starts. It all starts."

We pulled up to a small brick house that was surrounded, almost masked, by a myriad of trees. It didn't look to be out of place but it was easy to overlook. Great! So even if someone did drive by, what were the odds that someone would actually find this place!

"Get the girls in first before you get the boys," the woman ordered as she left the vehicle.

Cat looked at me and then screamed as Nash grabbed her arms and pulled her out of car while the rest of us could only watch in horror. I knew we should have done something but there wasn't anything we could do. Beck and Robbie were tied to the seatbelt and I couldn't even move with how I was sitting.

"Cat!" Robbie shouted. "Let her go!"

I felt Beck wrap his legs around me as Robbie thrashed to get loose to go after Cat. I leaned into the seat as Stiles opened the door and our eyes connected. Had my hands been tied in front of me, I would have grabbed onto Beck's leg, just so I wouldn't have a moment alone with Stiles. But I couldn't even fight against him when he grabbed me and flung me over his shoulders and carried me inside.

On one side of the room I saw a couple of couches arranged in front of a small television. The other side, a small kitchenette was tucked away in the corner, along with a shoddy dining set. Stiles kept marching forward and eventually brought me to the small room, or perhaps an empty but large walk in closet, Cat was in. I silently let out a sigh of relief: only Cat was in the room. Cat was safe, or at least as safe as any of us were in this situation.

But even though Cat was unharmed, I was still worried. What bothered me most was that this didn't appear to be a random kidnapping. These people had wanted us and they had prepared for us too. A pile of pillows and blankets were stacked in the corner adjacent to another door, which I presumed to be a bathroom. I turned out to be right when I glanced inside the cracked door and found a toilet and a bottle of anti-bacterial soap on the back of it.

I leaned against the wall by the bathroom as fear consumed my body. I didn't know what these people wanted with us or what they were going to do to us.

"Jade!" Cat sobbed.

I made my way over to her and sat down beside her, ignoring the pain in my arms from my wrists being bound for so long.

"Shh," I whispered. There wasn't anything I could say that would make Cat feel better and I knew that. She was scared, beyond terrified. I hated hearing her like that. Cat didn't need to go through this; none of us did. But since she was here, I needed to make sure she was safe. As her best friend, I owed her that.

I stood up in front of her as Nash and Stiles led Robbie and Beck in with their fingers interlaced behind their heads. Only when Nash and Stiles left did Robbie and Beck lower their hands. Beck took a deep breath as he took in his surroundings. Robbie immediately came over to Cat and I let them have a moment. Robbie wouldn't Cat; if anything, he'd keep her safe. As he pulled the tape off her, her sobs started to diminish a little. But as she and Robbie embraced once she was free, her sobs echoed in the small space.

"Let's get you warmed up," Robbie said. He grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it around Cat and himself.

"Are you okay?" Beck asked me.

"I'd be doing a bit better if you would untie my hands," I pointed out.

I turned around to reveal my bound hands and leaned against the wall as Beck pulled at the tape and eventually broke through. I immediately grabbed one of the blankets from the corner and wrapped it around me. Even though it had been over an hour since I got out of the lake, sitting in soggy soaked clothes didn't help my situation but I refused to take them off.

"What are you doing?" I snapped when I felt Beck hug me tightly.

"I'm keeping you warm," he replied. He wrapped his arms tighter around me, which was the last thing I wanted right now. Beck and I weren't a couple. He had broken up with me. He made that choice! I wasn't going to let him pretend that he cared just because we were being held hostage.

"Get off me. I'll be fine," I argued. I pulled the blanket tighter and knocked his arms back, just to prove his point.

"No," he replied as he rewrapped his arms around me.

"No? No? Are you serious?"

Apparently he was because he just attempted to wrap his arms around me again, only this time I couldn't as easily knock them off, but that didn't stop me.

"I don't care if you don't like it and I know we're not boyfriend and girlfriend, but you're still my friend and I'm trying to keep you alive. You can hate me all you want but I'm not letting go until you're warmer. Jade, you have to warm yourself up. You're still cold."

"I don't need your help," I snarled. I could take care of myself.

"Jade, Beck's only trying to – "Robbie began before I threw one of my famous glares at him.

"Stay out of this Shapiro!" I shouted.

"It's so cold," Cat stuttered. "S-so cold."

Robbie pulled Cat closer, much like Beck was attempting to do with me, only Cat complied. But as I looked into Cat's eyes and saw the fear clouding them, I wanted to do what I needed to make her feel safer. And if that meant I needed to get along with my ex – boyfriend, then so be it. I stopped struggling against Beck and just leaned against his chest, mostly to make Cat feel a little better about this entire situation.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you know," I reminded him.

"I know that."

"Then let me."

"I can't," he whispered.

"Why?"

"Because I can't, Jade, alright?"

"What's going to happen now?" Cat asked.

"It's gonna be okay, little pigeon," Robbie whispered to Cat. She only shook her head in response.

It wasn't going to be okay.

* * *

Cat's screams jerked me awake.

"No! Let go of me! No!"

Nash had one of his arm curled over Cat's chest and the other covering her mouth when we locked eyes. I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the door, only to be cut off by it being slammed shut in my face.

"No!" I screamed. "Cat! Bring her back! Cat!"

I banged on the door. Cat was out there…with them. With people that I knew could hurt her…with people that scared her…and I wasn't out there to protect her.


	6. Fragile

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

* * *

Author's Note: Remember that Slap video where Cat wakes Jade up by telling her a funny joke?

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* * *

**Fragile**

* * *

"Banging on the door isn't going to make them bring Cat back," Robbie pointed out to me.

"You got a better idea?" I snarled. So what if I had been banging on it for the past three hours? Cat was out there. I could hear her screaming and crying. I didn't know what they were doing to here but hearing what I heard was enough to make me worry. I didn't stop them from taking her out of this room. Her getting hurt right now was my fault.

"Bring her back!" I shouted again.

"They're not going to kill Cat," Beck said from across the room.

"How do you know that? You don't know them!"

"You don't either! Besides, you've seen how that woman looks at her. She likes Cat way too much just to kill her!"

"You don't know that! You don't know anything!" I shouted. "Cat's fragile. They don't have to do much to hurt her."

I knew that. Over the years, I had unintentionally hurt Cat with things that I said to people every day. I knew that it didn't take much to hurt Cat. And these people seemed set on doing that one thing. Beck placed his hand on my back and I glared at him for a moment before I softened it. He was Cat's friend too. We all were.

"Cat's stronger than you think, Jade. She's got you as a friend," Beck softly whispered.

"What are they doing to her?" Robbie asked.

Cat screamed again.

"I don't know," I said, unable to keep my voice even. How was I supposed to anyway? It was my fault Cat was out there. I didn't stop them from taking her. I was never going to be able to forgive myself if they killed her.

* * *

Cat was clutching her arms to her chest when Stiles gently prodded her inside a couple of hours later. As he shut the door, Cat slid down the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"I'm under my bed, I'm under my bed, I'm under my bed," Cat kept repeating, her voice growing louder a little bit each time, more frantic, more scared.

I had seen Cat scared before but never like this. She was physically shaking, even though she had her knees drawn to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. I could tell she was crying, which only made me angrier at the people who had us. Robbie moved closer to Cat and tried to hug her while I tried to figure out what I needed to do in order to keep her safe.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked.

"Cat, it's –" Robbie tried to say.

"No!"

"Get away from her!" I yelled at him.

I moved closer to Cat, who had her knees pulled up to chest and her face buried in them. I grabbed Cat's shoulders gently but she thrashed around and screamed, trying to get away from me. This wasn't Cat at all.

"Caterina! It's me! Jade!" I almost shouted at her, just to get her attention. I never used her full name unless I desperately needed to get her to focus and right now was one of those times. I didn't know what had happened but I wasn't going to let it happen again.

"Jadey?"

With big brown eyes filled with tears, she looked at me. I nodded my head, allowing her a moment to realize that it was me, before wrapping her into the tightest hug I could muster. I needed Cat to know she was with us and safe and we were not going to let anyone hurt her.

"She's so mean," Cat whispered. "She's worse than you."

"Who's worse than Jade?" Robbie asked. I glared at him and he immediately sat back down. Smart move, Shapiro.

"Her name's Trinity. Don't let her have me again," she sobbed. "Don't let them take me away."

"I won't. I promise. I'll get you out of here, Cat. Promise."

"What happened?" Robbie asked.

Cat shook her head again.

"Cat?"

"Leave it alone," I snapped. "She doesn't want to talk about it!"

While I wanted to know as much as possible about this people, I was not going to re-traumatize Cat to get that information. Whatever these people had done to her in the last five hours had terrified her. And if Trinity was worse than me…I didn't know what to make of that. People thought I was bad…cruel even…Trinity had to be on another level entirely.

"I'm just trying–" Robbie started.

"No!" I yelled.

"Stop it!" Cat shouted. She pulled away from me and ran into Beck's arms, hugging him tightly.

"Shh, it's okay, Cat," he soothed. "Shh."

"Stop fighting with each other!" she yelled at us once she had calmed down a bit.

"Cat, I'm sorry," I said softly.

"No you're not. Just stop. Please? I don't like it when you fight. Why can't you two just be nice to each other?"

"Can you tell me what happened?" Beck quietly asked.

She shook her head.

"Cat, did they hurt you?" he questioned.

Cat whimpered and pulled away from Beck, only to latch onto me. I didn't mind. Whatever Cat wanted so that she would feel better was fine with me.

"I wanna go home, Jade," she cried into my shoulder.

"We all do."

"Can we?"

"Just imagine that you're at home and you're holding Mr. Long-Neck," I said.

"And Mr. Purple?"

I nodded my head and pulled her closer.

"And your brother's in your room, helping you record around Slap video and he's probably drooling right now," I added.

"And wearing your bra. Do you remember that? It was the one with all the skulls on it."

I nodded my head. Her brother looked absolutely ridiculous but looking back on it, it was funny and if made Cat feel better in smallest bit, it was worth it.

"Did you know that when I went back to my house, I burned it?" I asked.

"You burned your bra?"

"I wasn't wearing it after your brother had. He stretched the elastic. It completely ruined my bra. These – " I motioned to my breasts, "are not meant to sag."

"Do you think Coober's okay?" Cat asked.

"I'm sure he's fine."

"Do you think he's scared being all alone?"

I shook my head. "Coober's brave."

"You're brave. You're not scared of anything. That's what makes you you, Jade."

That wasn't true. I was scared. I was scared to be here. I was scared that they would take Cat again, even though I promised her I wouldn't let them.

I was scared of what was going to happen to us.


	7. An Almost Perfect Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: OMG! I can't believe you guys! Last chapter...wow. I've never had a chapter with so many reviews so I was just blown away. I know it's been a few days since the last update (more than usual at least) so I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I'm not good with action, hence the delay.

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* * *

**An Almost Perfect Plan**

* * *

After almost an hour of stroking Cat's hair, I had managed to calm her down but she was still attached to me.

"Jade, why do people do bad things?" Cat asked. She was playing with the bottom of my dress but at least it was keeping her calm.

"Because some people are very screwed up," I replied.

"Like them?"

I nodded my head. I had known a lot of screwed up people that had been involved in my life in one way or another. Trinity…Doug the Diaper Guy…my Dad…I wondered if he even noticed that I was missing. I wondered if he knew how scared I was. My mom too. I didn't get along with my parents but right now I wanted to see them, just so I knew that this nightmare was over.

"Jade, are you okay?" Robbie asked.

I wasn't okay but I wasn't going to admit that to Robbie or Beck or even Cat. I was supposed to the strong one, the one that nothing scared. I nodded my head, just to get him off my back.

"You sure? You looked upset."

"I said I'm fine!" I snapped.

"Jade!" Beck shouted at me.

"Don't," I argued softly. I didn't want to fight. I pulled Cat closer and wrapped the blanket around us.

"Ow!" she cried.

_Ow_? She struggled to pull her sleeve back down and that's when I noticed there was something wrong. Cat wasn't one to fix something as miniscule as a rolled up sleeve. This was something else. I gently took a hold of Cat's arm as I pulled her sleeve up. I wanted to vomit when I saw burn marks on her arm. They hurt Cat. How could they hurt Cat?

"Jade," Beck called.

"I've got her," Robbie whispered as he slid down beside Cat and took her in his arms. "You're okay."

Only once I saw that Cat was calm and comfortable lying with Robbie did I get up. Cat was my first priority. I joined Beck on the other side of the room, grabbing one of the blankets from the corner and draping it over myself as I sat down.

"Are you okay? Honestly?" Beck asked.

"They burned her. How could they do that to her?" I said softly. I had heard Beck's question but I was so caught on the fact that Trinity and Nash and Stiles had burned Cat. I knew that some people were screwed up…but to do what they did what they did to Cat…it wasn't right.

"We've got to do something. We can't let something like that happen to anyone else," he muttered. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small knife. It looked familiar but I couldn't place it from anywhere.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Remember when Trinity threw it at Cat in the garage?" he replied softly. "I grabbed it when they weren't looking. I didn't know what do with it but I figured I'd come up with something. I think I know to get out of here."

I looked at Beck and then over to Cat and Robbie.

"How?" I asked.

"I've been listening to them over the past few hours about what to feed us. They'll come in eventually, probably just to rile Cat up. If we can distract them, we can probably make a run for it."

"It's risky," I pointed out.

"It's better than nothing. When one of comes in, I'm going to throw this at them," Beck explaining, indicating the knife he had now concealed in his hand. "You make sure you get Cat out of here. Robbie and I will be right behind you."

I nodded my head. We had to get Cat out of here. We all had to get out of here.

"Can we all be together? It would make me feel better," Cat said suddenly.

"Come on over," Beck said.

Robbie helped Cat up and held her close and they walked over toward us. Cat sat down beside me, Robbie on the outside, just like how Beck was.

"What were you and Beck talking about? Are you guys going to get back together?" Cat asked.

"Beck thinks he can get us out of here," I replied.

I instantly felt a little better seeing Cat's eyes light up from the possibility of us getting out of here.

"How?"

"When one of them comes in, when I tell you to, I want you to run out of here and out the door. I'll be right behind you, okay?" I said softly.

"And Robbie and Beck?"

"They'll be behind me."

Cat looked at Beck and Robbie, almost like she wanted to make sure this was true. When Beck nodded his head, she nodded back in agreement and leaned back against Robbie. I did the same with Beck. It was just like as if we had never broken up.

* * *

Stiles came in some time later, with a bowl of fruit in his hand.

"When I throw this knife, you grab Cat and get out," Beck whispered. I nodded when Stiles wasn't looking. We had one chance to make this work.

"Eat," Stiles ordered.

As Stiles turned to leave, Beck threw the knife at him. It wasn't the best aim as it missed him horribly, but it was a distraction. I grabbed Cat's hand and raced for the door, just barely dodging Stiles. I knew the front door wasn't too far from where we were. All we had to do was make it to there.

"Jade, run!" Beck shouted at me. His voice sounded distant. I realized then that he wasn't behind us and neither was Robbie. Stiles had blocked them in. We were on our own.

"Nash!" Trinity shouted.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Nash jump over the kitchenette counter and run toward us. He was only a few steps behind me and I was a couple behind Cat still.

"No!" I screamed when Nash grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he whispered into my ear. I tried to pull away from him but I wasn't getting anywhere. I had no room to even struggle when Nash tightened his grip.

"Cat, go!" I shouted at her.

"You run, they die," Trinity said. She looked at me and then at the small throwing knife in her hand. "Come here."

I shook my head at Cat. I didn't want her to near Trinity. I wanted her to run. I wanted her to get out of here. Cat seemed frozen though. She kept looking between Trinity and myself. Why wasn't she running? If she got out of here, she would be safe! That's all I wanted!

"Let's go back in the room," Trinity said softly. She placed her arms around Cat and began to escort her back to the room. Stiles was standing in the doorway as Trinity and Nash marched us inside. It hit me that Beck and Robbie never made it out of room. We never made it out. We still trapped here.

"Robbie!" Cat cried.

She ran toward him. Nash walked me over toward the wall by the bathroom and let go of my arms. Robbie squeezed Cat's shoulders and kept his arms draped over her, almost like a human blanket. Beck moved closer to me, his hand on mine. I was too petrified to move with our captors in the room. The room wasn't very big but to start with but it felt even smaller with them in it.

"What to do with you?" she pondered aloud. She turned to Nash, who was standing by the door with Stiles. "They're not being very cooperative. They're fighting it."

"We're fighting it? We never wanted to go along with any of this! You forced it onto us!" I shouted and I immediately regretted it. I should have never said a word.

"Bring her," Trinity ordered, pointing to me. "She needs to learn."

I froze. After seeing what had happened to Cat, I didn't want a moment alone with Trinity. But that seemed inevitable as Nash came toward me. I screamed as Nash grabbed my arms and proceeded to pull me away from the wall…away from Beck…away from safety.

"No! Leave her alone!" Beck shouted. He grabbed onto my leg but Stiles quickly put a stop from that as he pushed Beck down and stood beside him for good measure.

"Don't move," Trinity ordered. She threw her knife at Beck and I was so relieved when it didn't hit him. Beck looked at the knife and began to pull it from the wall.

"Beck, don't!" I shouted at him but it was too late. He had thrown the knife and it landed right beside Trinity's head. She glared at him and then focused on her knife.

"You tried to kill me with my own knife," she whispered as she pulled it out of the wall. She stepped closer to me as she examined it. She looked at Nash and nodded her head. "Drop her."

Nash immediately let go of me and I pushed myself against the wall, wrapping my knees to my chest. Stiles grabbed the front of Beck's shirt and pushed him against the wall, holding him in place by choking him. For once, Beck looked terrified. If Trinity hadn't been standing next to me with the knife in her hand, I would have been up there defending him. It didn't matter that Beck and I had broken up. I didn't want him to get hurt, especially not after seeing what they had done to Cat.

_I still cared about him._

"How did you get my knife? The one you used on Stiles earlier?" she asked, waving it in front of him.

_And apparently he still cared about me._

Beck didn't say a word. I could see the dissatisfaction in Trinity's eyes. She looked like she was ready to murder someone. She stepped over me and closer to Beck. Despite being somewhere between mine and Cat's height, she was still intimidating with her presence alone.

"You want to play with knives? Alright, let's go play with knives."


	8. Control

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: I loved how I was getting reviews that said update and all I could think about was the ending of my chapter…hehehehe…yeah…

Also, since I'm having to tell a vast majority of you to breath in my replies, **PLEASE **breathe both before and while you read these chapters. I cannot be held liable if something happens.

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* * *

**Control**

* * *

Six hours and forty-two minutes.

Six hours and forty-three minutes.

They had had Beck for six hours and forty-four minutes now and each minute took longer to pass than the one before it. An hour ago, I had heard Beck let out the most terrifying scream I had ever heard from him, which only made him not here even scarier for me. They were hurting him and somehow, it felt like it was my fault. I had agreed to go along with this plan and he was taking the fall for it.

"Jade, come sit with us," Cat called.

I shook my head. I wanted to sit by this door. I wanted Beck to come through it. I wanted him back in here with us. We were safer as a group where we could protect each other. But out there, I knew they were hurting Beck. Beck had basically thrown himself up to keep me safe so him getting hurt meant it was my fault.

"Robbie, Jade won't come," Cat complained.

I truly doubted that Robbie would do anything. Robbie tended to avoid me whenever possible. The fact that we had been able to even tolerate each other's presence for the past several hours had proven to be nothing short of a miracle.

"Jade," Robbie called.

"Leave me alone," I whispered. I pressed my ear to the door, just to hear Beck's voice…just to know he's alive. I couldn't handle the idea of him getting killed. I needed Beck in my life. I was still in love with him.

"Jade! Please!" Cat shouted.

"I can't…just…Beck," I whispered. I couldn't keep anything together. I was so used to having control of everything and now that I didn't, I didn't know what to do. There wasn't anything I could do. I wasn't used to feeling like that.

"Come on," Robbie said suddenly. He grabbed my arms and started to pull me from the door.

"Let go of me! Robbie, I swear!" I threatened. I didn't know exactly what yet but I knew it would not be pretty if he did not let go of me.

"You don't have to talk to us or anything but it makes Cat feel better when you're close by," Robbie said when we stopped. "Do it for Cat."

"Please Jadey?"

I had a difficult time saying no to Cat when she called me Jadey. She was the only one I allowed to call me that nickname and she only did it every now and then. But when she did do it, I knew that whatever she wanted was important and with the situation we were in, I was surprised she wasn't calling me Jadey all the time. As I sat down beside her, she gave me a small hug, indicating that she was happy with the decision I had made.

"Thank you Jadey," she said softly.

"You know, when we get out of here, I'm gonna take you to the zoo, Cat," Robbie said.

"The zoo?" Cat asked.

"Yep. And I'll make it so you can feed the giraffes."

"You can? Could we ride them too?"

I didn't know why Robbie was trying to fill Cat's head with such stupid ideas but when I heard Cat laugh a little and even smile, I instantly became okay with it.

"People are looking for us, right?" Cat asked.

Robbie placed his head on Cat's shoulders and rubbed her arms. "It'll be okay," he said softly.

"Rex is probably heading up a search party," I mumbled, albeit a bit sarcastically but hopefully it would make Cat laugh a little.

"You think so too?" Cat asked.

"Cat, it was a joke! You know how I feel about Rex. He's just a stupid puppet."

"Rex isn't a puppet!" Robbie shouted.

"Yes he is!"

"Rex is–"

"Stop it!" Cat screamed. "I'm tired of you two fighting!"

"She started it!" Robbie shouted.

"I don't care! You're gonna hug and make up right now!"

I looked at Robbie and then at Cat, raising my eyebrow. Was she really serious? Cat was breathing heavily and she looked genuinely hurt so I knew she wasn't messing with us. I knew Cat didn't like confrontation so for her to be doing it now, me fighting with Robbie was really upsetting her.

"Jade, look–" Robbie began. He stood up and faced Cat and myself. "I know that–"

I looked up to listen to him, only to see Stiles and Trinity were standing at the door, smiling at each other. I stood up and pushed Cat behind me. I was pretty sure Robbie could take care of himself but I knew Cat didn't stand as much of a chance.

"Jade?" Robbie asked.

"Robbie, turn around!" Cat shouted at him.

He did and only then did he realize what was going on. He moved toward Cat and stood in front of her like I was doing. He was protecting Cat too.

"Who do you want?" Stiles asked.

"The other boy. We'll leave the girls alone…for now," Trinity replied. My grip around Cat grew tighter.

"Leave him out of this!" Beck shouted from the other room.

I let out a small sigh of relief. Beck was alive and that made me feel a little better. But then why did they want Robbie? Why did they want both of them?

As Stiles came forward and grabbed Robbie, Cat reached out to him. I was so terrified that Stiles would take her too that I grabbed Cat and held her so tightly that she couldn't move. I didn't want them to do anything else to her.

"No. No!" Cat screamed. I wouldn't let go of her though, not with Stiles in the room and definitely not with Trinity in the room. I felt like the worst friend in the world because I knew she watching Robbie getting taken away and I couldn't do anything.

"Were you girls not hungry?" Trinity asked us shortly after Stiles removed Robbie and closed the door. "You didn't touch the fruit we gave you."

"You could have poisoned it," Cat said softly.

Trinity moved closer to us.

"Now why would I do that?" she countered. "Do you not trust me?"

"Why–" Cat began before I silenced her. There was no reason for her to speak to Trinity. Trinity was trying to get in her head, in all our heads. Trinity must have noticed that I wasn't going to let Cat speak to her.

"Why are you so protective over her?" Trinity asked me. "I've never seen anything like it."

I didn't answer her. I didn't want her to know anything about us. The more she knew, the more of a threat she was because of the information she could use against us. After a good ten minutes of silence, I think she got the message that we weren't going to say anything else. When Trinity left, Cat instantly dropped from within my arms and to the floor.

"What are they going to do to Robbie? I don't want them to hurt Robbie," Cat sobbed with her knees up to her chest.

I didn't know what to tell Cat because I honestly didn't know what they were going to do with Robbie. Instead, I grabbed one of the pillows and sat down next to her. I pulled the blanket she was laying with over us and wrapped my arm around her securely. I wasn't going to let her go. I couldn't let her go. Cat was all I had left right now.

"Tell me a story, Jade," she begged. "A happy one?"

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Blotus who dreamed of being a princess…"


	9. Plaid Boxers

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright Bade fans, here you go. The ending is a little cheesy but I figured with what I'm about to throw at you, you deserve a happy moment, one that will make you smile.

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

* * *

**Plaid Boxers**

* * *

"They're hurting them, aren't they?" Cat asked.

I could only nod my head in response. Cat and I were still lying on the other side of the room, cuddled together for security. I refused to let her near the door. I didn't want her to hear what was going on.

"Why? Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," I replied softly. I wanted so desperately to understand Trinity's mindset so I could figure out why she was doing what she was doing. I rubbed Cat's arm reassuringly but I didn't expect her to cry out and pull them away.

"They still hurt," she mumbled.

"Can I see them, Cat? So I can see how you're doing?" I asked.

Cat nodded her head and pulled the sleeves to her sweater up. Her burns were starting to blister over and I knew that had to be painful.

"When we get out of here, we're going to get this taken care of it. You're being so strong and brave right now, Cat. I'm so proud of you," I whispered.

"Jade?"

"What?"

"Thank you for not letting the elephant step on Blotus's magical bunny."

* * *

Cat and I slept off and on, due to the sheer exhaustion we were both battling from being here. I didn't even know if it was night or day or how long we had been here. I just hoped it would be over soon. I didn't know how much more we could take.

"Stop," Beck called out weakly.

I immediately went on the defensive when I heard Beck's voice. I'd lost track of how long they had him or Robbie now. When the door swung open, I took a deep breath as I mentally tried to prepare myself for what might happen next. But when I saw Beck, my heart sank.

Beck's arms were taped behind his back and I quickly noticed that he wouldn't put any pressure on his right leg. He wasn't wearing his jean jacket anymore and I could see blood starting to seep through his plaid shirt sleeve. I ran toward him, Cat in tow, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was so happy to see him, even if he was injured. He was alive and that's all that mattered.

"Is Robbie okay?" Cat asked.

Beck shook no into my shoulder but I didn't say anything to Cat. I didn't want to scare Cat anymore than she already was.

"Will you get this tape off my arms?" he asked.

"What did they do to you?" I questioned.

Then I realized it was a stupid question. They had hurt Beck and that alone hurt me. Beck was just trying to protect us. I eventually found the edge of the tape and it took me several attempts to unwrap it. I must have pulled off a good six feet of tape by the time I was done.

"Cat, can you stack up some of the pillows for me?" I asked. I knew I needed to look at Beck's knee but I wasn't going to do that with him standing up. I could tell that he was in a great deal of pain by how contorted he was keeping his face. He was like me in a way: he didn't like to show pain.

Cat was quick to assemble the pillows and then helped me bring Beck over and set him down. I noticed that Beck couldn't bend his knee at all and I needed to know why.

"Beck, I know this is going to sound really weird but take your pants off," I said.

Beck looked at me like I had grown three heads. Not two, _three_.

"If you can't walk, something's wrong. Now take your pants off."

"I can't walk and you want me to take my pants off?"

He was seriously testing my patience. I allowed the expression on my face to soften a bit, so Beck could see that I was genuinely concerned for his well–being. He unbuttoned his pants and then started to plead something to me with his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Getting my pants off…Jade, I can't put any pressure on my leg at all," he said, whispering the second half.

I nodded, understanding what I had to do. As I took his shoes off, and eventually his pants, my heart sank. Beck's knee looked like it had been smashed in. It was already bruising up and swelling. I brought my hand up to my mouth, much like how Cat did, as I began to comprehend the damage. This was bad.

"Cat, on the back of the toilet is a bottle of antibacterial soap. I need you to get it for me," I softly explained. The last thing I needed to do was clue her in that Beck's injuries were worse than they looked.

"Kay kay," she whispered.

I turned my attention back to Beck. I still couldn't believe what they had done to him. I didn't even want to think what they were doing to Robbie but I already knew that whenever Robbie would be brought back, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Take your plaid shirt off too," I said.

"Are you trying to get me naked?" he replied as he took his shirt off.

"Don't be an ass," I stated. I wasn't in the mood for jokes but at least he didn't fight me on it.

"Beck!" Cat sobbed as she handed me the soap. She sat down beside Beck and ran her fingers through his hair.

I began pulling at the seams of Beck's shirt to break it down into scraps. I needed to wrap Beck's knee so he didn't move it until we could get him medical attention. I wasn't a doctor but I was almost positive they had smashed his knee cap in, which explained why he couldn't walk. I would figure out what to do with his knee after I took care of his arm. Five more minutes of it not being wrapped wasn't going to do any more damage but the loss of blood might have. I put some of the antibacterial soap on a scrap of his shirt and started to clean the knife cut on his upper arm, only to wrap it once I was done.

"I love you," he said.

"You're just saying that because we're in this situation," I retorted.

"No. I do love you. I still love you."

Even though it had been a little over a week since our breakup, those words still meant a lot to me. Those words were still very much real to me.

"Then why did you let me walk away that night? Why didn't you open that door? Cat, lift his leg up _gently_."

The pain was visible on Beck's face as Cat touched outside his knee. I nodded my head at her, telling it was okay. She lifted his leg and I began to wrap it with the back of his shirt. I then took bits of his sleeves to tie it securely so that it would stay wrapped, which Beck didn't take well to at all. I had never heard him cry out in pain but I kept telling myself that I wasn't doing this maliciously. I was doing this to help him.

"Don't be a baby. I didn't tie it that tight, just tight enough so you couldn't move it without damaging it further. You need medical attention but hopefully that will hold you over for now," I said when I was done.

I wasn't sure if it would but I hoped it would help. Cat laughed as I looked at Beck, fear evident in both of our eyes. We both knew it was bad.

"What's so funny?" Beck asked.

"Your bandaid thing that's on your knee that Jade put there matches your boxers. You're all matchy matchy."

"Can we put my pants back on now? This is really awkward with Cat in the room."

"What's awkward?"

"Why are you taking care of me?" Beck asked, changing subject so neither he or I had to explain everything to Cat.

I sat down beside him and sighed. I knew the real answer: I still cared about him, more than cared, but I honestly didn't know if he still felt that way. I was afraid to ask him too because I was afraid of the answer. What if Beck didn't love me anymore? I shook my head; I couldn't answer that question.

"Jade, it's okay if you still love me," he said, pushing some of my hair behind my ear like he used to do when we were dating. It was almost like he could read my mind. During our relationship, we had learned to read each other and right now, I didn't like it. I wanted to pull away. Part of me was still angry that he broke up with me. But I still wanted him. I wanted him so badly.

"I'm not supposed to love you anymore," I said softly. "We're broken up. I'm not supposed to care but I can't stop. I couldn't stop worrying about you though. And this situation isn't helping either."

"Maybe we're not supposed to be broken up then," he pointed out.

"You guys do make a perfect couple by the way," Cat added.

"You're wearing that hammer necklace I got you," Beck said.

I wrapped my hand around it. Even though Beck and I had broken up, I still loved him. I still cared about him. He had no idea the hurt he had put me through that night. Then I noticed that Beck was still wearing the J necklace, the one I had gotten him to show the world that he was mine. He was still wearing it. How could I have not noticed all this time? Maybe he did still care.

"Do you still love me?" he asked.

I bit my lip.

"Jade?"

"Yes," I whispered as softly as I could. "You?"

"I never stopped."


	10. Forever Baby

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: For those of you asking, yes, Jade will have a turn with Trinity…very VERY soon. And her scene creeps me out…will it scare you? (It's not this chapter though so don't freak out.)

Also, you will probably most definitely need a tissue! I'll wait.

Do you think we can hit 200 reviews? With this being 13 chapters, I'd love to hit 250 reviews!

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

* * *

**Forever Baby**

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Beck insisted that Cat and I lay with him as we waited for news on Robbie. I wasn't sure if he wanted the comfort or he felt like he had to protect us but I didn't care what the reason was. I felt better having Beck around. I knew Beck wouldn't let anything to me or to Cat. He had already proven that once when he stopped Trinity from taking me and I would never be able to thank him enough for that.

Beck gripped us tightly as the door swung open and Nash stood in it with a plate of something in his hand. Cat whimpered and I grabbed her head. Even though Beck was taking the main role of protector, it didn't mean that I had quit.

"Where's Robbie?" I questioned.

"Eat," Nash replied. He sat down a small plate of sandwiches in the middle of the room but Beck wouldn't let go of us, not that I minded. For once, it was nice to not have to play the role of protector.

"I want Robbie!" Cat shouted.

Nash moved over toward us and squatted down in front of Cat.

"Eat. You need your strength, pet."

"Leave her alone," I stated. They had done enough to Cat and enough to Beck.

Nash glared at me.

"You're next," he whispered into my ear just loud enough for me to hear, sending a wave of shivers down my spine.

_Next?_

"Eat," he said as he shut the door, leaving us isolated once again.

I saw Cat get up and grab a couple of sandwiches. She brought them back and gave two of them of Beck, one of them probably for me.

"I'm not hungry," I said. I brought my knees up to my chest and laid my head across them. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go somewhere where no one find me…where I knew I was safe.

"Jade, your stomach is growling at you. It might bite if you don't feed it," Beck said.

I shook my head again.

"If I eat something, will you?" he asked.

I looked up at him and Beck looked genuinely concerned for my well being, not that I could blame him. We were all worried about each other. I was even worried about Robbie. What were they doing to him? Beck's small clue that Robbie wasn't okay was enough to scare me and Cat didn't even know. I didn't like to withhold things from Cat but I didn't want to scare Cat anymore.

"Jade?" Cat whispered. "It's okay. See?"

I looked at the sandwich in front of me. I was hungry but had no desire to eat. The thought of even trying to put food into my stomach made me sick.

"Please?" Beck asked, his mouth half full of food.

I rolled my eyes and brought the sandwich up to my lips. It was just food. That's all. I could eat food. Beck and Cat were doing it. But when the door slowly opened and I saw Robbie standing there, I couldn't.

Robbie had his hand clutched tightly on his chest, almost like he was trying to hide something. But that wasn't the case at all. He was trying to stop something. When he collapsed onto the floor, I saw the blood.

"Robbie!" Cat screamed.

I brought my hand up to my mouth as I saw how much of Robbie's shirt was covered in blood. I grabbed the other part of Beck's plaid shirt that I hadn't ripped to shreds and pressed it to Robbie's chest. We had to stop the bleeding.

"What are you doing?" Robbie asked, straining with each word.

"I'm trying to stop the bleeding," I explained. I didn't know how bad it was but I knew it had to be. These people…it was bad…

He turned his head to face Cat, who had tears running down her face.

"Sing something," he begged.

"_Move your body right next to mine, feel the beat and we're lost in time,"_ Cat sang softly. She ran her fingers along Robbie's hairline as he continued to cough up blood. She took his hand into hers and kissed his forehead.

I kept pressing down on Robbie's chest wound, but it was already starting to seep through the shirt. I looked at Beck and shook my head. I knew right then and there.

"Robbie?" Cat asked.

"Keep going," he hoarsely whispered.

"I don't remember the next part," Cat whispered.

I moved closer to Cat and took her free hand in mine, while still holding the shirt to Robbie's chest wound. It was bleeding fast; it almost completely soaked the shirt after a few moments but I kept pressing down. Robbie couldn't afford to keep losing blood. We couldn't lose Robbie; we just couldn't.

"_Move your body right next to mine,"_ I sang. I squeezed her hand, silently telling her to do it with me. She shook her head as more tears sprang from her eyes and rolled down her face.

"_Feel the beat and we're lost in time," _Beck continued.

"_Forever baby_," Cat sang, choking on the words.

Robbie did his best to smile and I could tell it was hard for him. I squeezed Cat's hand harder as I watched Robbie's breathing start to slow down. I knew what was happening and I wasn't sure if Cat did but I didn't want to tell her.

"Don't die on me, Robbie. I need you," Cat whispered. "Please?"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here…right here," he said.

"Promise?"

"Where else would I go?" he asked softly. "I promise."

He squeezed Cat's hand and I saw the smallest flash of a smile on her face. But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone again. I showed Cat where to hold the shirt to help stave off the bleeding so that she could have a moment or two alone with Robbie. After I did, I sat down by Beck and leaned into him.

"Jade, it's–" Beck asked before I cut him off with a nod of my head.

It was so unfair and so wrong. How could they do that? Did they enjoy it? Why did they want us to suffer?

"You're really amazing Cat. Did you know that?" Robbie asked.

"I am?"

"I'm gonna take you on a date to get some spaghetti…and some garlic bread…"

"Would there be meatballs too?"

"There would."

"I love you Robbie," she whispered. It was barely audible but I knew it was real.

"I…I…"

That was it. Robbie…

"Robbie? Robbie? No! NO!" Cat shouted.

I ran forward toward Cat as I realized the awful truth. I wrapped my arms around Cat's small body and pulled her back. I never expected her to try to break free from me though. Cat always leaned on me when she was upset.

"Let go of me! No!" she shouted.

"Cat," I tried to reason with her.

"He's not! He can't! He promised! Robbie promised!" she screamed as she pushed me away.

I was shocked for a moment. Cat had pushed me. Cat had never physically pushed me before. But I had never seen her this upset before. I gently wrapped my arms around Cat and hugged her softly. I needed Cat to know she wasn't alone, that we were there.

"No," she half-whispered, half-cried. "No!"

I slumped down against the wall next to Beck, Cat now wrapped tightly in my arms, as sobs began to shake my entire frame.

Robbie Shapiro was dead.


	11. Look Into the Mirror

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: Well, I'm proud to say that I have officially finished writing Survive and now going to start writing Part II: Broken. However, there are still two more chapters to Survive. They just got finished alot earlier.

Reviews earn the reviewer a preview of the next chapter (provided that I can send you that message).

* * *

**Look Into the Mirror**

* * *

Beck and I held Cat all night as she cried. Beck had positioned Cat on him so that she couldn't see Robbie's body. I had thought about moving it but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wasn't a body. Robbie was our friend…a victim…it wasn't right.

Even I cried. As obsessed as I was over death, I didn't wish it upon anyone. Beck had done his best to reassure me that we would figure something out but I couldn't believe him. I saw the damage they were doing to us. It was getting worse with each of us, escalating. I was the only one who hadn't had an encounter since we'd arrived here. I knew I was next. And to say that I was dreading it was a vast understatement.

My hands and arms were still covered with Robbie's blood but I couldn't bring myself to clean it off. I couldn't get past how they just stabbed Robbie. I didn't understand how someone could do that, let alone three people.

"Do you think Rex will miss him?" Cat asked softly.

"We all will," Beck replied, rubbing her back.

"I want Robbie back! You guys don't understand!"

Cat pushed away from Beck and made her over to Robbie and sat down beside him. She didn't touch him or make a sound or anything. She just sat there as tears left her eyes. The sight was heartbreaking for me to even look at but I couldn't tear my eyes away. I couldn't stand to see Cat like that.

"Jade?"

I quickly wiped the tears away from my eyes. I needed to be strong. I didn't need Cat to see me like this. I didn't even want Beck to see me like this.

"Hey," he said, "It's okay to cry, Jade. You don't need to be the strong one all the time."

"But Cat…she…Robbie…" I muttered. I couldn't even get myself to say coherent phrases, let alone sentences.

"Shh…"

"The last thing I did was fight with him over Rex and now I can't even say I'm sorry. I never should have fought with him. Cat didn't even get to hear how he felt in return."

"I think she knows."

"Robbie…I'm so sorry."

Sorry for what? Cat couldn't have done anything to prevent this. That's what was so screwed up. None of us could stop it.

"Cat, could you grab the blanket from over there?" Beck asked suddenly.

Cat nodded her head and headed over toward the door where the blankets were piled.

"We won't let anything happen to Cat and we're not going to let anything happen to you, alright? I won't let it," Beck said.

I wanted to believe Beck but Nash's threat still echoed in the back of my mind. _I was next_. They wouldn't be telling me that if they didn't want me to know.

As Cat picked up the half folded blanket, she caught sight of Robbie once again. I wondered why Beck had sent her to get the blanket but I did like have just a moment alone with him…like how it used to be. Then, the door swung open, and the little moment of peace we had was gone.

"Hi," Trinity said. Stiles was beside her. "Remember me?"

Cat whimpered, dropped the blanket, and ran toward Beck. He wrapped one arm around her and one around me. He wasn't going to let us go and I was grateful. I grabbed Cat's hand and squeezed it tightly. Trinity walked in and then around Robbie's body. I was relieved that she wasn't coming near us but I didn't want her in the room at all.

"Aww…he died…" she said. She knelt down and ruffled his hair. I felt my blood boil. She stabbed him and she's pretending like she cares? This woman was even more screwed up than I thought possible.

"Trinity?"

She stood back up and looked at us for a moment and tapped her heel as she thought. Then she pointed at me.

"The dark girl. She'll be fun and I'm ready for her," she replied before walking away.

My heart stopped. They wanted me. It wasn't too much of a surprise; they'd already taken Cat and Beck once and Nash even told me I was next. I was the only one they hadn't had yet. Still…after seeing what had happened already, I didn't want to go. I was truly terrified to leave this room.

Beck wrapped his arm around me tighter and I latched onto them. I didn't want to go with them, especially not after seeing what they had done to Robbie. Sure, Beck and Cat came back and they were fine, or alive really, but that wasn't any indication that I would come back that way. Every time one of us had left, they had come back worse than the previous person. What if I didn't come back? What if they killed me too?

"Don't make this difficult," Stiles stated.

"You're not touching her," he stated firmly. I'm sure if Beck could, he would be standing in front of both Cat and I, but right now, just hearing that he was protecting was fine with me. I could hold my own.

"Why are they always difficult?" he mused, almost to himself.

_They_?

It hit me: we weren't the first. This wasn't the first time they had done this. That's why they were able to control everything. They had been through everything already. We were just another set of victims. But then how many people had they gone through already?

As he came closer, my heart started beating faster. He was going to take me and there wasn't anywhere I could go. I wrapped my arms around Beck and buried my face into his chest. I didn't want to leave him.

"Get off me!" I screamed when Stiles got his hands on me. "No!"

"Leave her alone!" Cat shouted.

I reached out for Beck's hand, only to have Stiles slap it down and pull me further way from Beck and Cat.

"No! Beck! BECK!" I screamed.

There wasn't anything I could do with Stiles's arm wrapped around my waist as he pulled from the room and locked it, preventing Beck and Cat from getting out and me from going back in. I would do anything to be back in the room again. I didn't want to be out here, especially not knowing that it would only be moments when I would be face to face with Trinity and Nash.


	12. As The World Falls Down

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

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Author's Note: I'm sure many of you have been of have been waiting for this chapter. If you haven't already been terrified by Trinity, you just might today. I think I managed to write a whole new level of creepy with her.

I'm gonna go hide now. I'm afraid.

And for those of you who are in denial: ROBBIE IS DEAD.

_**So I know with previous chapters for pretty much all my stories, reviews earn you a preview. This is the one time I can't do that because any spoiler I give you gives away the chapter and I just can't for Chapter 13. The chapter's sensitive enough and I think the only way you can read it is to read it in its entirety to get the true effect.**_

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******As the World Falls Down**

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I was physically shaking and my heart wouldn't stop racing as Stiles forced me to walk forward, when I didn't even know where I was going myself. It didn't take me long to figure out though as I saw Nash and Trinity sitting at the table. They were eating and the aroma was almost intoxicating as I realized how hungry I was.

"Put her over there," Nash ordered.

I saw that he was pointing toward the couch. Stiles twisted my arms and forced me toward the couch. Only when we stopped did he relinquish a little of the force he had exerted on my arms.

"Don't move," he ordered as he forced me to sit on my knees.

I wanted to pull my knees up to my chest and hide in them but I didn't dare question his order. I saw a pool of blood congealing on the floor behind the couch. I knew it was Robbie's just by the amount. That was where they had basically killed Robbie. That was where they stabbed Robbie. I was right by it.

_Was I next? Was I going to die?_

"Now?" Trinity asked.

"Later."

It was coming…that much I knew. I didn't know when though and the terror of not knowing when but knowing it was inevitable was torture in itself. I stared at the floor and occasionally glanced over at the door that was separating me from Beck and Cat. I looked at the door we had tried to escape from earlier and it hit me: they weren't watching me. I could do it. I could run for help.

_No_.

The last time we ran…Beck got hurt…Robbie died. As much as I wanted my freedom, I couldn't jeopardize Beck's and Cat's life for it. They weren't just my friends…they were my _family._

"Now?" she asked again.

I looked up and saw Nash nod his head at Trinity.

"Go get ready."

Trinity went over to the kitchenette and Nash came over toward me. He stood in front of me for a moment and just looked at me, like I was a piece of meat. It was like he was trying to size me up for whatever he was going to do.

"You're not after them, are you?" I questioned suddenly, just to break the tension. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my voice to stay even. Right now, I wanted to keep them distracted from doing whatever they were going to do to me until I could think of some sort of plan to get us out of here.

"Yes and no," Nash replied. I kept my eye on him as he walked back and forth.

"Then what do you want?" I questioned.

"I wanna play now!" Trinity whined. "You promised!"

"Soon, love."

He kneeled down to meet me eye level, not that I wanted him to, and grabbed my chin roughly.

"You know why we saved you for last?" he asked. He released my chin and the action nearly propelled me into the floor.

I shook my head but I didn't want to know. I wanted to know why they took us. Why did they burn Cat? Why did they kill Robbie? What were they planning to do with me?

"You're feisty," Trinity said from the kitchenette. She tossed one of her knives in the air and skillfully caught it without paying much attention. "And I like feisty."

"Don't touch her!" Beck shouted suddenly from the room. "Leave her alone!"

I wanted so much to be in Beck's arms where I was somewhat safer. Not out here though. Not out here with Nash and Stiles and _Trinity_. Nash grabbed me by the front of my dress and forced me to stand against the wall, facing them. I could feel my body trembling as he leaned in.

"You move and I will go break your boyfriend's other kneecap and then he won't be able to walk at all," he whispered into my ear. I couldn't help but let out a small sob as I heard Nash threaten Beck. It was so wrong that they were using us as pawns against each other.

"A few days ago, you said you weren't scared of me," Trinity began as she came out from behind the counter and in front of me.

_Had it only been a few days?_

Trinity ran the knife along my cheekbone. I knew if she put any sort of pressure on it, it would cut into me. I didn't understand how she could do this was such ease and not feel anything when it was so obvious how terrified I was. My bottom lip was quivering and my eyes were closed so I wouldn't have to see her.

"Are you scared of me now?" she asked.

_Yes_.

But I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that. I couldn't. It would only make whatever she was going to do worse.

"Open your eyes, _Jade_. It's more fun that way."

I did, mostly out of fear of what would happen to Beck and Cat if I didn't. She was smiling when I opened them.

"Why are you doing this to us?"

"Shh. You're taking the fun away. But maybe this–" she looked at her knife "–should be saved for later. Maybe we should start with something else. But what…maybe acid would be more fun…more than fire at least…and then we can use the knife. Do you like that idea?"

Nash put his hand up. "Stop. Drop her. I've got a better idea. One I'm sure you'll like, pet."

Trinity pouted. She thrust the knife into the wall, not even six inches from the side of my head. She had the power to kill me and I think she wanted me to know that. As she walked away, I slumped down against the wall, shaking from the thought that I was almost killed. Nash came over and knelt down to my level again. He grabbed my wrists and held them above my head.

"Make you a deal, love. You for them. You stay with us and they go free. Otherwise, you can all die."

My heart stopped. The offer for Beck's and Cat's freedom was right there in front of me, but it meant completely losing mine.

"You have a choice. Now make it."

Nash released my wrists and I looked at the door that Beck and Cat were behind and then I looked at Nash. This decision was wrong because in the end, it didn't matter what I picked. Someone was going to lose.

Someone was going to die.


	13. It's Over

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Dan Schneider does.

* * *

Author's Note: Remember, this is a trilogy and while you will probably want to kill me at the end of this, please remember that I love Jade and this was a very heartwrenching decision even though this was, ironically enough, the first chapter I had fully written.

Nevertheless, have a tissue ready because you will probably cry while reading this chapter.

Part II (Broken) can be found on my profile page.

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**It's Over**

* * *

"Can I say goodbye?" I quietly asked. I couldn't walk out of their lives without any kind of explanation. It didn't matter what happened before, no one deserved that, least of all Beck or Cat. They had been through enough.

Nash looked at Trinity, who nodded her head. She smiled and ran her hand through my hair, her nails almost digging into my scalp. I couldn't help but shake from the action. I hated this woman for everything she had done to us and was going to eventually do to me.

"You've got one minute," he said. He snapped his fingers. "Stiles."

One minute wasn't enough time to do anything but it was better than nothing. It would at least give me a little time to say something. Stiles grabbed my upper arm and would have dragged me back to the room had I not caught myself quick enough to stand up and walk with him. His grip was tight and I knew it would leave a bruise and somehow that didn't even seem to bother me.

"We leave in ninety," he said. "So be quick."

I nodded my head, understanding. At least they were letting me say goodbye but that didn't seem to do any justice. How does one say goodbye to their two best friends?

He unlocked the padlock on the door and opened it. My eyes met Beck's wide and fear filled ones. Cat was beside him, her hand entangled in his, sleeping. I was a bit relieved to see Cat asleep. As much as I loved her, saying goodbye would only crush her, not that it wasn't going to crush Beck. Cat had already lost Robbie; we all had. And now she and Beck were going to lose me.

This was already harder than I thought.

I sat down beside Beck and stared at the floor. I felt his hand on mine and it took all my willpower not to cry right then. It hit me: this was the last time I would probably ever get to talk to him. This was the last time I would be near him. This was it.

"I need you to promise me something," I whispered. I couldn't look at him. I didn't want to see his eyes, which would reveal his true feelings. Beck and I had always been able to read each other just by looking and this was the one time I didn't want to know the truth.

"Anything."

"Take care of Cat for me. She's going to need you and I need to know that she's going to be okay."

"Jade-"

"I know we've had our differences-"

Beck took my face into his hands and stared me in the eyes. "Jade, what did you do?"

I shook my head as he held it. I didn't know how Beck knew something was up, but he did. I couldn't tell Beck though; it would only break his heart. But this would keep Beck and Cat safe and after seeing what had happened to Robbie, I couldn't let Beck and Cat suffer the same fate. It was going to escalate the longer they had us. This is what had to be done. This was the only way.

I met Beck's eyes with tears in my own. I had to say goodbye and I didn't want to. Part of me already regretted my decision but I had to remind myself that this was setting Cat and Beck free, but somehow that didn't seem to be enough.

"Jade?"

"In less than a minute, I'm going to walk out that door and you're going to count to ten, and make sure you count to ten and I can't stress that enough, and then you and Cat are free."

"What did you do?" he asked again. "You're scaring me right now."

I knew I could have answered if I really wanted but I didn't want to risk his life. I didn't want to risk Cat's life for it. Instead, I threw myself onto Beck and allowed our lips to crash together. I wanted to remember what that felt like. I wanted that to be the last memory he would have of me. I wanted that to be the last memory I would have of him.

Three knocks. Time. I shook my head. I didn't want time to be up. I'd rather be stuck here forever so I could be with Beck and Cat. I had to remind myself that I had bought their freedom and that was worth something. I stood up and made my way over to the door. I placed my hand on the knob and took a deep breath. This was goodbye. And it was in the worst possible way.

"Jade!" He grabbed my hand and I stopped. Beck was making this harder than I could handle. I pulled my hand away and didn't turn to face him; I couldn't. This was hard enough. This was essentially goodbye.

It was goodbye.

"I'm sorry. Remember, count to ten," I whispered with tears running down my face full force as I walked out the door.


End file.
